Spiller vs. Marshawn

[UB2SF]

I just watched the Chris Brown interview with CJ Spiller on bb.com. At first I thought, "well, this is just your basic boring run-of-the-mill draft pick interview"... until my mind flashed to the first interviews I saw with our last first-round RB, Marshawn Lynch. Then I realized I was seeing something more important than just football cliches from a nervous young adult.

 

Let's compare:

 

CJ -- appears humble and soft spoken

Marshawn -- appears to be a character on the Chappelle Show

 

CJ -- stayed in school to finish his degree; earned Dean's List

Marshawn -- went to school miles from his hometown; left early for the cheddar; earned respeck from his homies

 

CJ -- idolizes Warrick Dunn because he was as great off the field as he was on the field

Marshawn -- idolizes... um... himself?

 

CJ -- 3-time All-American in track and field

Marshawn -- 3-time subject of felony charges

 

 

Now that CJ is here, when will Marshawn go? Not soon enough.

 

 

Disclaimers:

- facts cited in the above comparisons might not, in fact, be facts

- I am a Bay Area guy with a Marshawn jersey in my closet; it hurts me to say these things

[SWVABillsFan]

If his jersey is in your closet, are you then a closet fan?

[CosmicBills]

Who cares. It's all about the player on the field. Not off.

 

I'm sorry. Character is the most overrated thing in football. As long as they play hard on the field, who cares who's a better "person".

[RealityCheck]

You're dreaming.

 

 

Who cares. It's all about the player on the field. Not off.

 

I'm sorry. Character is the most overrated thing in football. As long as they play hard on the field, who cares who's a better "person".

So suspensions from bad character don't matter?

[UB2SF]

Who cares. It's all about the player on the field. Not off.

 

I'm sorry. Character is the most overrated thing in football. As long as they play hard on the field, who cares who's a better "person".

 

Don't be sorry. I actually agree with you with regard to the absence of correlation between character and output. I guess that's exactly it: I sincerely believe that CJ will have better output than Marshawn, so the fact that his character is clearly superior to Marshawn's just makes me like this pick even more.

[CosmicBills]

So suspensions from bad character don't matter?

Sure they do. But you're assumming he's going to get suspended based on the fact he was suspended once before.

 

He's a kid. A good kid by all reports from those who know him. And his teammates like and respect him. I've never heard one person in the locker room bash the guy. And the people I know that are in that locker room every day during the season say the same thing.

 

The most important thing is what they do on the field.

 

The only exception I make is for the Leonard Little's of the league. And yet -- he is probably a hall of famer when all is said and done.

[CosmicBills]

Don't be sorry. I actually agree with you with regard to the absence of correlation between character and output. I guess that's exactly it: I sincerely believe that CJ will have better output than Marshawn, so the fact that his character is clearly superior to Marshawn's just makes me like this pick even more.

That could very well be true. I wouldn't doubt it. And yes, that is the most important thing.

 

I just think people are way too harsh on Marshawn. He's a kid. He's had mistakes and paid for them. But the dude flat out plays hard every snap. That's all you can ask from a player.

[UB2SF]

That could very well be true. I wouldn't doubt it. And yes, that is the most important thing.

 

I just think people are way too harsh on Marshawn. He's a kid. He's had mistakes and paid for them. But the dude flat out plays hard every snap. That's all you can ask from a player.

 

Ah yes, this illustrates the other absence-of-correlation phenomenon: effort versus output. One of the reasons I bought Marshawn's jersey was that his running style seemed the embodiment of effort. But more often than not, behind our rag-tag offensive line, Marshawn's effort translates to two broken tackles, three jukes, and one spin for a gain of minus two yards.

 

With Spiller, I see the raw gifted freakishness to explode beyond the inevitable scrum of tacklers rather than to be swallowed whole by it.

[DanInUticaTampa]

Who cares. It's all about the player on the field. Not off.

 

I'm sorry. Character is the most overrated thing in football. As long as they play hard on the field, who cares who's a better "person".

 

When lynch gets caught with a loaded gun or smoking pot, he will be suspended for an entire season and he won't do ANYTHING on the field.

[ajzepp]

Who cares. It's all about the player on the field. Not off.

 

I'm sorry. Character is the most overrated thing in football. As long as they play hard on the field, who cares who's a better "person".

 

I'm really surprised to hear you say that, actually. One of the things I've always loved about this franchise is the fact that, more often than not, we've had players and coaches that we can respect and be proud of. I've sort of become indifferent to Marshawn, myself. I'm not thrilled with is issues, but can't say he's really done anything that would make me want to have him gone from the team. BUT, now that we have a guy here who is not only his equal or possibly (hopefully) his superior in terms of talent, AND the fact that he supposedly is a high character guy, I'm much more excited about CJ's future as a Bill than I am Marshawn's.

[Fred Smerlas's Moustache]

Folks here were saying the same **** about Marshawn when McGahee got run off. "Oh he loves Buffalo because Kenny Mayne did a piece on him at TGI Fridays!"